still on wills......todays programme had another case of a will not being accepted because "it wasnt correctly made" but they didnt explain what was incorrect........wish they would finish telling you all facts............I love the programme but do find it a bit frustrating sometimes
A will can be invalid for a variety of reasons - the main ones being that a will has not been properly witnessed or dated. Another problem is that the person who drew up the will has been ambiguous in the wording, and it has not been made clear exactly what their wishes were. Another pitfall is that sometimes 50 years can elapse between a will being made and executed, and those that have been left money could have died themselves, often intestate. That's why it's worth the money to have the will drawn up by a professional, who will ensure that the will is worded and witnessed correctly, and will advise of any possible pitfalls in the future. But whoever draws up the will, it remains the property of the person who wrote it, and it's up to them to ensure that it outlives them.
My father had a problem with an invalid will - his son (my half-brother) had been left some money and property by his maternal aunt, but when this aunt saw his propensity for gambling, she changed her will and left the money to my father. Unfortunately although she signed and dated this new will, she never had it witnessed, and although the will was found, it was invalid, and my half-brother got the money when she died.